2 16 by Kansas State Collegian

VOL. 121, ISSUE 94

T U E S D AY, F E B R U A RY 1 6 , 2 0 1 6

THE INDEPENDENT VOICE FOR KANSAS STATE UNIVERSIT Y

INSIDE

Alum works to end 1 of ‘most abusive practices’ facing LGBT community

this issue

PAGE 4: Beyonce’s song ‘Formation’ gains spotlight

Samuel Brinton announces ‘Fight for Fifty,’ a campaign for all 50 states to submit a bill on ending conversion therapy EMILY STARKEY the collegian

PAGE 6: Men’s basketball looks to halt road struggles

Soul Cafe event celebrates black talent, culture DANIELLE COOK the collegian

K-State’s Black Student Union hosted its Soul Cafe event in honor of Black History Month in the K-State Student Union’s Main Ballroom Monday evening. During the Soul Cafe, multiple students performed music, poetry and more. The Soul Cafe event serves as a way of showcasing black talent and celebrating black culture, allowing students to express themselves through the arts, Muenfua Lewis, BSU president and senior in finance, said. “Soul Cafe is a showcase of a lot of black talent and artistry — things that don’t always get highlighted,” Lewis said. “It implements a lot of cool artsy performances that don’t usually get showcased.” Lewis said BSU’s idea to host the event was inspired by Soul Sessions, a popular attraction of similar nature in Kansas City, Missouri. “It reinforces the culture aspect of what BSU is all about,” Lewis said. “If you were trying to get just a quick glance of what black culture is, I think this is a great event to check out. It’s just a lot of fun. It’s great to see people perform and get in their element.” Black culture is often misunderstood, and the Soul Cafe event showcases some of the best aspects of what black culture really is, said Tiffani Wilson, junior in criminology, BSU member and performer for the Soul Cafe. see page

5, “SOUL CAFE”

-State alum and congressional adviser on nuclear issues Samuel Brinton discussed a campaign to end conversion therapy during his during his “You Can’t Change What We Never Chose” lecture in the Engineering Hall on Monday. Brinton announced “Fight for Fifty,” a campaign for all 50 states to submit bills to end conversion therapy. The alum, who calls himself a survivor of conversion therapy, advocates for ending the practice with the ultimate goal of putting the industry out of business. Conversion therapy is “be-

George Walker | THE COLLEGIAN

Sam Brinton, LGBT advocate and 2011 K-State alum, speaks to Stephen Kucera, senior in accounting and music performance, after presenting on conversion therapy at the Engineering Complex on Monday. Brinton, a survivor of conversion therapy, is working to end the practice state by state. havioral, cognitive, psychoanalytic and other practices that try to change or reduce same-sex attraction or alter a person’s gender identity,” according to the Na-

tional Center for Lesbian Rights’ website. “Blatantly trying to change a person from what they are to what you want them to be or what you

want culture to see them as — that’s what conversion therapy is,” Brinton said. see page

5, “FIGHT”

Wesemann provides spark of energy for women’s team RILEY GATES the collegian

Jump back to a week ago when the K-State women’s basketball team hosted the Oklahoma Sooners. Oklahoma entered the game ranked No. 21 in the country in the Associated Press Poll. The Wildcats had not defeated a ranked team yet in the 2015-16 season. This was a big game for the Wildcats. The players would have to bring everything they had, physically and emotionally, to upend the Sooners. Fast forward to the 5:52-minute mark in the fourth quarter. Junior forward Jessica Sheble drives down the lane for the Wildcats, drops in a layup and draws a foul on Oklahoma. The layup gave K-State a 68-57 lead over the Sooners with just under six minutes left to play. Sheble was excited about the play and her emotion was visible, though not nearly as visible as the emotion that junior guard Kindred Wesemann showed. To say that Wesemann wears her emotions on her sleeve is an understatement. Whenever a big play is made, she visibly displays her excitement. It is a trait that excites a player and gets her competitive juices flowing, but the excitement does not always sit well with the opposing players. That is something that Wesemann said she has had to deal with for the entirety of her basketball career. “I think I’ve always had it, even through high school and middle school,” Wesemann said. “Middle school was really rough because people didn’t really understand what to do with having a bunch of energy after a certain play. In college it’s a lot more fun to play the game that way. I think that’s the right way to play the game is with energy. I just try to bring that because I think it helps

THIS DAY IN HISTORY On this day in 1898, a massive explosion of unknown origin sinks the battleship USS Maine in Cuba’s Havana harbor, killing 260 of the fewer than 400 American crew members aboard. history.com

Rodney Dimick | THE COLLEGIAN

Junior guard Kindred Wesemann rushes to the offensive side of the court on Saturday inside Bramlage Coliseum. Wesemann stole the ball five times from Kansas in the Wildcats’ effort to bring in their fifth consecutive win in the series. my teammates out too.” Wesemann said it best herself. It helps out her teammates and will get their excitement levels to rise when a big play is made. It brings confidence to a team and can even influence the team’s play. The layup that Sheble scored in the Oklahoma game was followed by a free throw. Did Wesemann’s excitement influence the result of the free throw? Possibly. Wesemann’s teammates credit their play improvement to her energy. “It definitely gets us excited too,” sophomore forward Kaylee

Page said. “During big plays and stuff, if someone’s getting hyped, it kind of gets the ball rolling for when that next big play comes and everyone is jumping, yelling and excited too. It just gets everyone excited and into the game.” Wesemann’s passion is something she brings to every game. The fans notice it, the players notice it and Wesemann herself notices it. What do the coaches think about it, though? A coach can either love a player’s excitement or not care to see a player broadcasting that to the world. For the Wildcats, it is some-

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thing that the coaching staff said they must have. “It’s everything,” K-State assistant coach Jacie Hoyt-Capra said about Wesemann’s passion. “She’s obviously the heart and soul of our team. As she goes, we go. She’s a leader in every way. She does a great job being the floor general that we need — she’s a great messenger for coach Mittie to her teammates.” Although Wesemann’s visible showing of emotion is something special and unique, it is not unique to her. Other players play with this emotion as well. Early in the first quarter of the Oklahoma game, K-State was chipping away at the Sooners’ lead. Junior center Breanna Lewis got a layup to fall and was fouled on the shot. Her score brought the Wildcats back to a three-point game, and the energy was back in the Wildcats. Lewis was excited, but if you watched her on the play, it was far from visible. “I think that everybody has their own level of it,” Wesemann said. “Mine is on the higher end of the spectrum, whereas like you’ll see Breanna Lewis or Megan (Deines) — they’ll keep it under wraps, but they can let it out sometimes. People on our bench like Kelly (Thomson), she’s very energetic. She’s always jumping around. Jessica Sheble is always over there getting excited for all of us. (Antoinette Taylor), she’s more of a quieter one, but she gets pretty pumped whenever good things happen.” Although this characteristic is something that has meant a lot to Wesemann and her teammates, it is still something that K-State head coach Jeff Mittie said he is looking for improvement on. He wants the emotion and energy to result in a bigger leader and more confident play at the point guard position. see page

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5, “WESEMANN”

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OPINION tuesday, february 16, 2016

Beyonce’s new song sparks controversy maybe she should be careful with the way she expresses her opinions because she is a role model for so many people. But on the other hand, she is human and has the right to freedom of expression just like you and me. Do I think she went a little overboard? Definitely. Does that mean she should not have done it? That is not for me to say. The biggest problem I see is not whether it was okay for Beyonce to express her feelings about what she believes is wrong with society. The problem I see is people’s inability to differentiate between having an opinion and doing something about it versus having an opinion and making something of it. Let me explain. “So if the Black Lives Matter movement really wants to make a difference, they should pour the medicine directly on the wound,” Michael Palladino, president of the Detectives’ Endowment Association, said in the New York Daily News article “NYPD detectives union head blasts Beyonce’s Super Bowl 50 halftime show performance.” “Get into the ghetto, the ’hood. Get to the bottom of why people of color prey on other people of color in their own neighborhoods.” Though this is very bluntly put, it holds some truth. If a person has a problem with what is going on in society, then the best way to change it is to take the initiative to go figure out why it is happening and then figure out how it can be changed. This may be naïve of me, but it seems that rather than doing something about a problem, it has become the norm in our society to see who can make a bigger spectacle of the problem rather than be willing to actually go out and fix it. I agree that the first step to this is acknowledgement, but the second step, which is so often skipped, is following through and finding a solution. It is people like Beyonce, who has so much power and influence in today’s society, who have the ability to make a change with help from their followers. “(Beyonce) is a woman who understands her own power, how

KAITLYN COTTON the collegian

Beyonce took the field on Super Bowl Sunday, and according to social media, there were penalties on the play and people are not happy. With the drop of her new song “Formation” on Feb. 6 and her Super Bowl performance the next day, Beyonce is using time to her advantage. It is clear she has a message she wants to be heard, but it seems people are only looking at half of the story. The cast of Saturday Night Live performed a skit that mocked reactions of both Beyonce’s new song and her performance at the Super Bowl. “For white people, it was just another great week,” the skit said. “They never saw it coming. They had no warning. Then, the day before the Super Bowl, it happened.” Although the skit has some humor, I think it brings up a good point. Many people are taking offense to the message Beyonce was sending, and some with good reason. It seems, however, that people are missing the other messages hidden behind the catchy song and fierce outfit. Even though the “Black Lives Matter” message is more clearly shown in the song and in the performance, there are more subtle acknowledgements of other societal injustices, such as police brutality, disproving stereotypes and feminism. The SNL skit shows white people leaving the country in masses after they realize Beyonce is black, and a joke about a child asking her mom if Taylor Swift is still white. The skit alludes to the one problem with this whole controversy. Yes, Beyonce is a public figure and

to harness and magnetize us to it,” Wesley Morris said in The New York Times article, “Beyonce in ‘Formation’: Entertainer, Activist, Both?” I think Beyonce took things a little far, but we need to stop acting like it is the end of the world when someone wants to criticize some-

thing about society. So, if you don’t agree with Beyonce, then the first step is acknowledging it. Now, it is your choice if you are going to skip the second step or if you are going to take action and change the status quo, or sit back and do nothing. The choice is yours.

Kaitlyn Cotton is a sophomore in mass communications. Please send comments to opinion@kstatecollegian.com. The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of The Collegian.

Illustration by Savannah Thaemert

Bandwagon against Cam Newton has run off the road PATRICK WHITE the collegian

What we all saw on television two weeks ago was the Denver Broncos defeating the Carolina Panthers in the Super Bowl. The week after, all we heard about was how Cam Newton was a sore loser and should have answered more than three minutes of questions at the postgame press conference. Now a week later, we actually have clarification on some missing details. Newton was not, in fact, a sore loser, and he shook Peyton Manning’s hand with genuine

congratulations on his win, according to Scott Gustin’s MyFox 8 article “Why you’re wrong about Cam Newton (and the post game press conference).” “While Cam was fielding questions about his team’s loss, he was forced to listen to Harris brag about the Broncos’ strategy for shutting down the Panthers,” the article said. What good is the Super Bowl postgame press conference, anyway? We know the score, the press conference isn’t necessarily televised and it is always the same. The winning team gloats and the losing team is morose. I’m sure we all learn something from having to continually go through that.

And this isn’t the first time in recent history the press has dramatically gotten things wrong. Years ago, Manning walked off the field in his own Super Bowl loss without even shaking the winners’ hands, according to Erick Fernandez’s Huffington Post article “That Time Peyton Manning Was A Bad Sport and Barely Anyone Cared.” Was Manning’s exit a show of bad sportsmanship? Maybe, but I would also argue that wading into the other team’s celebration to grab camera time could just as easily be seen as glory hogging. From the past two Super Bowls, the media have focused in on two Seahawks players

Street Talk compiled by Shelton Burch

MICHAEL EMLEY senior,

finance and accounting

“Kennedy, mainly because he is a distant relative.”

for their lack of grace, only to have to admit they weren’t paying attention. Last year, former Seattle running back Marshawn Lynch was in the media spotlight for his behavior at a press conference. He replied to every question he was asked with his famous line, “I’m just here so I don’t get fined.” In the Yahoo article “Marshawn Lynch talks about why he doesn’t talk to the media,” Lynch essentially said his dislike of press conferences is because of his lack of trust in the media. After the case of his teammate, Richard Sherman, I too would be distrustful of the media. The previous year, the

NFC Championship that saw the Seahawks defeat the San Francisco 49ers ended with Sherman’s rant caught on camera. What the press found, however, was that Sherman had been shoved aside after the game by Michael Crabtree, the reciever he was covering on the last play, according to the Monday Morning Quarterback article “To Those Who Would Call Me a Thug or Worse.” What did the “thuggish” Sherman say to Crabtree? Well, he said, “Good game,” and offered Crabtree a handshake. I can understand hyping up a big game and the press wanting to know what happened on the field, but they

WHO WAS YOUR FAVORITE PRESIDENT?

seem to have a nasty habit of making villains out of people who are playing a game, while also making the losing team feel worse during their postgame press conference. I do not think there should be a press conference for the losing team, and the media needs to more sympathetic when doing the postgame interviews. Patrick White is a senior in mass communications. Please send comments to opinion@kstatecollegian.com. The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of The Collegian.

IMANI NEWMAN

KIRA SHROPSHIRE

LACEY OSTMEYER

RYAN WOODSON

“Barack Obama, mainly because he has done a lot of great things for being in office for a short term. He makes me proud to be an American.”

“Obama, because I feel like the morale he brings to the presidency is kind of different than maybe other presidents. I feel like he keeps everything kind of fun, like he’s kind of a fun president. He’s not so rigid.”

“Abraham Lincoln, and the reason why is because he abolished slavery and that’s really important to me.”

“I’d say Ronald Reagan because I’ve only heard good things about him.”

freshman, psychology

junior, psychology

freshman, management information systems

junior, marketing

tuesday, february 16, 2016

SOUL CAFE | Students embrace WESEMANN | Wildcat star plays game black culture in ‘artistic way’

‘with such great passion,’ drive continued from page

“She’s always played the game with such great passion,” Mittie said. “She’s got such a drive to be one of the best players in the league, but she also understands the responsibility of being a leader and not doing that for her drive to be the best, but for our team to be successful— we need to do that. She’s progressed in that area. Having said that, there’s still room for growth.” It is easy to play with this confidence and passion when you are doing well, but what happens to that feeling when the game goes south and players do not play as well?

The K-State men’s basketball team has a saying on their 201516 team poster about K-State fandom. “It doesn’t appear with wins, or fade with losses,” part of the poster reads. This could also be used to describe the energy Wesemann brings for her team. “One thing that I love about her game is that she’s going to bring that whether she’s playing well or not,” Hoyt-Capra said. “Obviously when she has 26 points (like she did in the Oklahoma game) it’s going to be at a different level, but she’s definitely someone that we rely on to fuel our team and our energy.”

Right now, the Wildcats are playing with the emotion and energy that Wesemann is known for. They have won two games in a row and will look to continue that when they face No. 8 Texas on Wednesday. The Wildcats will be the underdog in this game. With the way K-State has played this season, it is hard to tell if they will upset the Longhorns or if they’ll fall by 15 points like they did when they faced Texas earlier this year. But there is one thing that is known about that game and the rest of the season: Wesemann will bring the heart, energy and passion that her team will need to make a push to the NCAA Tournament.

FIGHT | 1 in 3 LGBT people go through

some form of conversion therapy, Brinton says continued from page

Danielle Cook | THE COLLEGIAN

Shakyra Everett, junior in agricultural communications and journalism, recites original poetry in the K-State Student Union Main Ballroom during the Black Student Union’s Soul Cafe event Monday. continued from page

“It’s not always portrayed in the best way,” Wilson said. “A lot of times with media and things like that, you see it one way, but you don’t see what’s really going on. It’s just nice to see a positive event with a bunch of positive vibes. The event stands as a reminder to black students to embrace their culture in everyday life, said Desmund Weathers, sophomore in engineering, BSU member and performer for the Soul Cafe. “Soul Cafe is about embracing black culture in an artistic way,” Weathers said. “Events like this teach the black

population at K-State to just enrich wherever they go. A lot of times, our culture isn’t embraced fully on this campus, so events like this allow us to come together to celebrate, to remind ourselves to remain black in whatever we do.” Wilson said unity is an important part of black culture, and the Soul Cafe helps bring BSU members and other students together in celebration of it. “Everybody here has the same goal, just to live life with no limits,” Wilson said. “That’s exciting to me, just to know that other people are going where I’m going. There’s so much talent here at K-State, and it’s not showcased enough.”

Some of these practices include inducing nausea or paralysis while showing the patient homoerotic images, providing electric shocks, using shame to create aversion to same-sex attractions, orgasmic reconditioning and satiation therapy, according to the NCLR. “Conversion therapy is by far one of the most abusive practices that we in the LGBT community face and sadly is legal in 45 states, including the great state of Kansas,” Brinton said. California, New Jersey, Oregon, Illinois and the District of Colombia have passed laws preventing the licensed practicing of conversion therapy, Brinton said. The risks of conversion therapy are extremely high and in some cases can be fatal, according to Brinton, who said he experienced suicidal tendencies because of the practice. These risks of the practices include depression, guilt, self-blame, shame, social withdrawal, suicidality and much more, according to the NCLR.

“I would truly think, ‘I don’t want to be in a world where I’m this bad,’” Brinton said. Some people believe, however, that conversion therapy is no longer an issue, Brinton said. “Recognize that conversion therapy runs the gamut,” Brinton said. “We have current data saying that 1 in 3 LGBT people will go through some form of conversion therapy.” With the amount of people experiencing conversion therapy, it is impossible to ignore the fact that it is happening in today’s society, Brinton said. “I get over and over and over again, ‘The 1980s called, they want their issue back,’ and I remind them that a young woman named Leelah Alcorn died of suicide this year at 12 years old because of conversion therapy,” Brinton said. “This is happening now.” Protecting youth should be a priority regardless of differing opinions of the LGBT community, Brinton said. Brinton said he did not receive full support and protection here on

K-State’s campus, but he wants to see that happen for future students. “There are many times this university has a not lived up to its potential to support every student,” Brinton said during the Q&A portion of the lecture. “The first moment of that in my academic career was my sophomore year, just after coming out, and a professor saying, ‘Turn to your partner... Oh, wait that has a gay connotation to it. Just turn to the person sitting next to you.’ It showed me immediately that this classroom was not going to be a place where I was going to be able to learn to my fullest ability.” Brinton announced during the lecture that he will be founding the first ever K-State scholarship specifically for LGBT students in the engineering program. “It will show the community that it is OK to be here, that there is a place for you here,” Brinton said. “It gives me a chance to say, ‘As a K-Stater, I had a great experience, but I didn’t have the best possible experience, and I want to make it better for the next person.’”

tuesday, february 16,2016

TCU offers Wildcats chance to end road struggles LIZ HEATH the collegian

he Wildcats continue their road series tonight against TCU in Fort Worth, Texas. They look to bounce back from Saturday’s tough loss in overtime against Oklahoma State. The loss was K-State’s third overtime loss this season, and it sent the Wildcats into a two-game losing skid. The Wildcats have lost their last seven true road games. The last time the Wildcats found success away from home was in early December in a 68-66 win over Georgia. TCU has had struggles of its own this season. The Horned Frogs sit at the bottom of the Big 12 with a 2-10 record in conference play and an overall record of 11-14. TCU’s only two Big 12 wins of the season both happened on their home court, where they slipped past Texas 58-57 in early January and defeated Oklahoma State 63-56 just over a week ago. K-State enters Tuesday’s con-

ference sitting eighth in the Big 12 with a record of 3-9 and an overall record of 14-11. The Wildcats lead the all-time series with the Horned Frogs 8-4. The last time K-State and TCU squared off was the opening round of the 2015 Phillips 66 Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City, Missouri. The Horned Frogs prevailed 67-65 over a dysfunctional Wildcat team, smashing any postseason hopes for K-State. TCU’s junior forward Chris Washburn averages 12 points per game and 6.3 boards against K-State on his career. In Washburn’s last two outings against the Wildcats, he has shot 67 percent from the field, averaging 16.5 points for both contests. So far this season, Washburn has averaged eight points per game. Sophomore guard Chauncey Collins leads the way offensively for the Horned Frogs. He has scored in double-figures in nine of his last 12 league games and is currently averaging 10.9 points per game. The level of competition doesn’t phase Collins. In

games against top-25 opponents, he averaged 13.6 points per game, as well as 44 percent from behind the arc. If there was ever a time for the Wildcats to break their roadgame drought, TCU offers the opportunity for a change in momentum. The Wildcats are averaging 71.6 points per game compared to TCU’s 66.9. TCU has given up an average of 69.3 points per game this season, putting the Horned Frogs at the bottom of the Big 12 in scoring margin at -2.4. TCU does a decent job defending the 3-point shot, keeping opponents to an average of 32.1 percent shooting from beyond the arc. To answer, the Wildcats will look inside to forwards junior D.J. Johnson and senior Stephen Hurt. Johnson has come up big for the Wildcats, leading the team in field goal percentage at 63.2 percent. Since knocking off top-ranked Oklahoma on Feb. 6, Johnson has averaged 14 points per game. K-State will tip off against TCU at 7 p.m. today in Fort Worth, Texas.

File Photo by Parker Robb | THE COLLEGIAN

Senior forward D.J. Johnson slams home a dunk in the first half of the Wildcats’ 59-77 loss to the No. 7 Jayhawks in the first leg of the annual Sunflower Showdown on Feb. 3 inside Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence.

What to watch: Mountaineers have huge week ahead

Union employees adjust to construction

Tipoff for this rivalry is set for 8 p.m. Wednesday on ESPN.

MIAMI (FL) (11) AT NORTH CAROLINA (5)

CHRIS ROBINSON the collegian

WEST VIRGINIA (10) AT TEXAS (24)

West Virginia is still in the thick of things in the Big 12. The Mountaineers have a victory over Kansas and one more matchup with Oklahoma, but first they play at Texas. The Longhorns, who defeated West Virginia on the road, now get to face the Mountaineers at home. The Longhorns are coming off a rough week where they lost two games. This game can help them regain confidence and help their tournament resume. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. today on ESPN2.

DUKE (20) AT NORTH CAROLINA (5)

The best rivalry in college basketball is back again for the first time this year. After being out of the polls for two weeks, Duke is finally back, setting up another classic top 25 matchup. The Blue Devils won with a buzzer beater over Virginia on Saturday. North Carolina blew out Pittsburg to rise in the polls ahead of this game. With a win, Duke can make ground on North Carolina’s lead, while the Tar Heels could extend their lead with a victory.

The Tar Heels have another huge game this week. If they can defeat Duke and Miami, they would extend their ACC lead to two games. Miami has been a team that has surprised some people with its consistency this year. The Hurricanes are right there in the ACC title hunt. They are in second but can tie and possibly take the lead in the conference with a couple of victories this week. Tipoff for this game is set for noon Saturday on CBS.

OKLAHOMA (3) AT WEST VIRGINIA (10)

This game really is a must-win for both of these teams. West Virginia will need to keep pace with Kansas, and Oklahoma will need to win out to really have a chance to win or tie for a Big 12 title. West Virginia will have to first take care of business against Texas. The Sooners will be looking to bounce back this week after their heartbreaking loss to Kansas, but they also have a tricky game versus a seemingly hot Texas Tech team in Lubbock, Texas. West Virginia and Oklahoma will tipoff at 3 p.m Saturday on ESPN. Chris Robinson is a junior in mass communications. Please send comments to sports@ kstatecollegian.com.

stay

EvanAnn Boose | THE COLLEGIAN

Amber Cockrell, junior in pre-dentistry, and Ebony Williams, senior in psychology, sort through paperwork at the Cat’s Den on Monday. Both Cockrell and Williams are still working in the K-State Student Union during the construction and employee transition.

KAITIE MAROLF the collegian

With the plans for improvement in the K-State Student Union came the close of businesses, including the food court. This left both full-time and student workers searching for other jobs. “This wasn’t a last-minute thing,” Michael Higgins, 2015 K-State alum, former Caribou Coffee assistant manager and former catering assistant manager, said. “We all knew it was happening. We encouraged people to find new jobs.” Construction on the Union was scheduled to begin during the summer of 2015 but was pushed back until December 2015 due to weather and the construction of a new chilled-water plant that had various parts of campus under construction, according to Audrey Taggart-Kagdis, assistant director of marketing and community relations for the Union. Higgins said there were only two entry-level catering employees in the fall, while everyone else was working in the food court. All other staff members had left for other job op-

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portunities, leaving the work up to the management staff. “They all pursued finding jobs this summer when it was a little bit slow in Manhattan because they were worried that they wouldn’t be able to find a job in the middle of the school year,” Higgins said. “That’s why there wasn’t as many people on the floor in the food court.” The changes in employment are due to more than just the construction. Sodexo, an international company that deals in food service contracts, ran many of the on-campus eating establishments, including the food court, Caribou Coffee, Salsarita’s and Einstein Bagels in Hale Library for an annual subsidy of around $150,000, Taggart-Kagdis said. When Sodexo’s contract ended, the Union decided to take a different route by allowing individual restaurants to bid on the six spots that will be available when the construction is completed.

“It was quite expensive,” Taggart-Kagdis said. “That was the whole point of changing our food service model, getting rid of contract food service and working directly with the restaurants.” Although negotiations are still in place, Taggart-Kagdis said several of the restaurants that were in the food court may be returning, along with other local and chain operations. In addition to the employees who lost their jobs in the food court and Salsarita’s, others went through management and ownership changes. The Union Computer Store, Cats’ Den and Einstein Bagels are now run by Follet Higher Education Group, and Caribou Coffee became Radina’s Coffeehouse, Taggart-Kagdis said. Despite these changes, many of the employees stayed on and worked through the challenges presented by the construction. Tasks that used to be simple for the Cats’ Den employ-

ees, like making the morning beverages, bringing in new shipments and taking out the trash are taking twice as long because of the construction all around the store, Ebony Williams, senior in psychology and Cats’ Den employee, said. When the Cats’ Den employees found out “through the grapevine” about the construction in the Union, their concerns were aimed toward the day-to-day challenges it presents to their jobs, Amber Cockrell, junior in pre-dentistry and Cats’ Den employee said. “My thoughts were, ‘How are we going to stay open business-wise? Was the traffic going to be worse or better? What about getting around the Union when we get shipments and stuff like that?’” Williams said. According to Christina Pitts, senior in social work and Cats’ Den employee, the store did stay open, things did become harder and they did end up needing more employees because of higher traffic from construction workers and students needing meals and directions. Radina’s hired Zac Ralston, Caribou Coffee general manager, to continue in his position as they transitioned into the new business. Higgins said Ralston then extended an invitation to all of the fall 2015 Caribou staff to stay on and work for Radina’s. “He’s got incredible experience in coffee shops,” Higgins said. “I thought that was really great that he let them stay on because they have good chemistry, so that’s important.” While Union employment was limited without Sodexo and the food court, Taggart-Kagdis said she feels that more student employment opportunities are ahead. “My assumption is they are going to want to hire a student workforce,” Taggart-Kagdis said. “We are one of the largest student employers on campus. It’s good experience for students to have that.”